Brittany Lauren, Mid-Pacific’s new middle school Visual Arts teacher, is excited to enjoy this school year with the new faces she hopes to meet.

Before, moving to the mainland for higher education and pursuing teaching, she graduated from Mid-Pacific.

“I never thought I was going to teach until my senior year in high school,” Lauren said.

That summer, she was a teacher’s assistant in the art department. This is when she decided that she wanted to teach to give back to students who want to learn and explore art.

“I was inspired by the visual art department at Mid-Pacific which is what encouraged me to get my certificate,” Lauren said.

In 2022, Lauren saw a job opening at Mid-Pacific. Knowing, as an alumni, how art-centric the school is, she took the opportunity to return and joined the cast of art teachers.

“I’ve done art since I was four, which has been an important part of my life.” Lauren said, “My grandma would give me a bunch of things and say here cut this up and make something,”

From a young age. She engaged in various creative activities such as sewing, organizing fashion shows for her grandmother, and introducing herself to music, visual art, and dance. This early exposure to the arts profoundly influenced her perspective on life.

Previous to teaching at Mid-Pacific, Lauren taught at Koko Head Elementary and all girls school in California for five years.

“I was on the mainland and I was teaching art and moving to different places, debating whether to stay or move back home. Then, I moved back here four years ago.” Lauren said.

Previous to teaching at Mid-Pacific, Lauren moved around California teaching, but when Covid hit, she had to decide whether or not to stay or return home.

Right now, she is loving her middle schoolers, her room and experience so far.

“The middle schoolers are very energetic and I can’t wait to get to know them better,” Lauren said.